Saturday, July 26, 2008

It's summertime, and I've come down with a nasty cough/cold/flu malady.

This seems unholy.

I temporarily updated my home page, which, upon further thought, feels nearly obsolete. But the previous placeholder was so outdated and had basically ceased serving its purpose of existing faithfully in lieu of the hideous load of freshman year exploits in charcoal. So....here 'tis - The Newer One.

Friday, July 18, 2008

And so begins the process of Broadening Horizons, as it relates to a varied printmaking oeuvre. Last night was my first Silkscreening 101 Session. The process is quicker and less "painful" than letterpressing. I am hoping to get a new perspective on the press by becoming proficient at another method with which to compare and contrast.

Lesson Number One: "To Pull" vs. "To Press"

From our mini-series of fantastical creatures with anatomies. A wee tutorial given and absorbed by Sofie and myself, respectively.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Sunday, July 13, 2008

Two weeks ago, I received word of a project involving the compilation of 2D works. My contribution to this project has just finished drying.

The word compendium comes from the Latin word compendere, meaning "to weigh together". I can't wait to see the finished publication! I am glad to have "weighed" something for this endeavor.

A revisit to metal type was a welcome change of pace. Slower, that is. The text took about 4 hours to set. This lengthy commitment was 50% due to a complete monstrosity of a type drawer (see photo comment), and 50% to my clumsiness. Metal type demands a different sort of finesse than does wood type, and I needlessly spilled the composing stick an unholy number of times. Regardless, this was a necessary exercise, and I am glad to have embarked upon it. Type/paper specs follow the photos...

Side Note: The state of the jobcase for Century Schoolbook 12 pt Italic is unforgivable. I would say that the last person to set this type was also an awful distributor. However, it appears that the type was not distributed at all, but rather, all manners of letters and marks of various sizes were dumped into various compartments. Remedying this will be this week's crusade of sorts.

I keep forgetting to wear gloves while I do this, and also eating dinner while I set. This is bad news. So I have already begun taking offers for assistance for when I am old and demented from the lead ingestion.

An Age Of Mechanical Reproduction

The Finished Print. Taken from the original email.

This project was printed in an edition of 40 on Handmade Mulberry paper. Each print measures 8" x 10" and is set in a combination of Century Schoolbook 12 pt Italic and Shaded Caslon 12 pt. The center embossing features an assortment of punctuation marks from wood type alphabets.

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

It was an unexpected, albeit healthy group jam session in the basement. We made a mess and cleaned it all up, and somewhere in between managed to create some objects and work through a few errant thoughts itching on the brain. We printed this progressive edition on newsprint (the wheatpaste plan will be issued in a later installment) with a highly overpacked tympan. We began with a near-pure cyan and terminated with a lavish display of deep violets, murky browns, and hand-applied white spatterings. The results were thick, dark, and deep. "Sensual," if you will.

Saturday, July 5, 2008

In early May, my industrious room-mate did a photoshoot of some prints/books I've made, as an official "digital portfolio" of sorts. This series seems like old news to me, but not to the rest of the Internet World. Or The World, in general. Or maybe just this little circle of readers/friends who I manage to find time to talk with in person nearly-weekly.

Anyway, getting these images together is a great idea, because it happens to coincide with a semi-noteworthy event:

After an evening with one-of-my-favorite-printing-friends-ever, Emma, of emilie/ITC Kabel immortalization, I announced to myself, "Self, You Will Get Your Flickr Profile Back In Order." So I did. And I made a little set to share...

P.S. Sometimes "Flickr" sounds like "Flickle." And if you say that five times fast, you will feel quite silly and forget most of your printing-related/non-printing-related woes.